Covenant for Caledon
NOTE: The following is a wikified version of the Caledon covenant, as updated on 5 January 2009. This is an unofficial copy, and may be outdated or contain errors in conversion or transcription. It does not include the "information and history" appendix. The latest official covenant is available in-world by using the About Land window and Covenant tab on any piece of Caledon land. Welcome to the Independent State of Caledon! Visitor's introduction Caledon is a 19th century Steampunk Victorian nation-state! A small, windswept isle at a temperate latitude with wild creatures, country estate life, and sights and sounds that were common well over 100 years ago. *19th century period clothing, politeness, and activities are smiled upon, but "just being yourself" is more than good enough. *Though most regions are rated Mature, common decency and classy behaviour are expected and required in public areas. *We have a very real society here. Everything from humble shopkeepers, inventors, clothiers, writers, explorers, titled gentry, doctors, tavern keepers... you name it! As fascinating as everyone else is, the biggest discovery might be who you become. *Caledon has been blessed by its residents: deservedly famous artisans, the incredible shopping, the landmark Caledon Trolley. All of this added up to some of the most desirable addresses on the grid - not for being posh, but loveliness and warmth. We regularly host incredible seasonal and cultural events – consider yourself invited! *New to the grid? Pop by our nation's capital (region: Caledon Victoria City) to find many free items there offered up by generous clothiers, inventors and just plain nice people. Check out the University of Caledon Oxbridge (region: Caledon Oxbridge) for a very newcomer friendly, college-like setting where you can learn, and even reside for free in our new resident halls. You'll fit right in, and please consider yourself a guest of honour. Interested in citizenship? Drop Desmond Shang a notecard (Inventory button, Create menu, Notecard) – drop it to my profile in Search People and I'll add you to our group – you will be able to hear our community notices and conversations. Have a great time! Landed citizen information PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING SECTION FIRST!!!! Regarding Residency here: # Caledon regions are private island regions. Many regions use telehubs and share a common theme. # No refunds. Read this entire document carefully! # Regions may vary in tier rates, due to the 15 Nov 2006 and 5 January 09 price changes for servers. Also, some regions may be urban or rural environments – make sure to look up the specific region theme in this document for additional details. # In a 'town hall' meeting our service provider mentioned a sixty day notice should region tier increase – such things usually aren’t mentioned unless a tier increase is a possibility. I hope everyone understands that if Caledon's tier fees change, or we need to upgrade in order to stay competitive, land fees have to change comparatively in affected regions. Any such changes would not be done casually. # Communication and notices will be done primarily via group notice in the Independent State of Caledon Group. If you choose not to be a member of that group, there will be a 'recent notices' notecard giver on the first floor of the Guvnah's Mansion in Caledon Victoria City, (southeast corner of the region). Recent changes Document date: Proceeds from 5 January 2009; supercedes all prior covenants. Recent changes 5 January 2009: *updated some typo's, included Caledon Oxbridge information *added/updated new region descriptions for recent region additions of fall 2008 *updated covenant to include openspace region changes due to 5 Jan tier increase *simplified format of region descriptions *details regions going hubless by resident agreement Overarching national theme a) Caledon has a 19th century Victorian theme. Structures are to be Victorian, or perhaps a thatch roof house, old Tudor, castle, Celtic cottage, or maybe a hobbity hole or treehouse. That sort of thing. Inside your home or shop decorate as you like. Try not to let modern stuff be glaringly obvious from the outside. An occasional small Japanese gazebo or that sort of not-exactly-theme kind of thing is okay. Magic, steampunk, and fantasy items are encouraged! b) Dress code: none! Other than basic decency, of course. c) Caledon has weather and seasons! You may see fall leaves on the ground, snow, spring flowers, &c. You may even see overcast skies. d) Caledon has seasonal events! By all means, participate! We bend the rules a bit for holidays – if you want to have a Halloween Haunted Maze or a Holiday Bake Sale by all means do so. Just leave a sign out so the neighbours know what it is during construction; it’s easy to mistake carnival booths for a mini-mall while you are still building. Grid-related afflictions not allowed in Caledon No ‘yard sales’, ‘walking signboard avatars’, outdoor malls, huge signs ESPECIALLY land-for-sale signs, casinos, gambling for $L, camping chairs &c., scamming, Ponzi schemes, fraud &c., clubs (small pubs ok), racial slurs or hate speech, or combining sexual activities of any kind with underage avatars. No selling of items that are freely obtainable elsewhere (we consider that to fall under scamming). Avatar rights We (the sim owner and the estate managers of Caledon sims) attempt to recognise the inherent worth and dignity of everyone, and view all as equal. Therefore we establish the following principles: I) Anonymity. * Never shall an avatar be required to reveal ‘first life’ information about themselves. II) Freedom from Discrimination. * No discrimination will be based upon an avatar’s (or operator’s) ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, either real or apparent. If your avatar is furry, mechanical or otherwise, you have the same rights and privileges as everyone else. * Reasonable limits apply, regarding the use of an avatar’s form to cause technical problems, harassment or grief within the State of Caledon. III) Freedom of Speech. * An avatar may express ideas and opinions without fear of retribution. * Please note that slander, libel, hate speech (racial, ethnic or gender slurs), scamming, fraud, harassment &c. are not considered free speech and thus not protected. * Protests are protected speech. The time, place and manner of a protest may be limited in a reasonable, nondiscriminatory manner so as to protect other avatar’s rights. * Methodic, active attempts to lure residents or visitors away from the State of Caledon while on our shores is considered High Treason: a betrayal of the trust that allows you to remain. Heavily promoting a foreign region is an issue; a modestly offered landmark to an offshore store in your home or shop is not. IV) Liberty. * Caledon recognises personal responsibility for personal actions, regardless of declared status or interpersonal relation. All are considered free to the State of Caledon, bearing both the right and responsibility of Liberty. V) Domestic Association. * Interpersonal associations such as avatar partnerings are not the business of the State of Caledon, and no discrimination or restrictions shall be placed on such. VI) Freedom from Blacklist. * The State of Caledon will not use lists distributed by other parties or agencies to take action against avatars, especially global or automatic ‘ban lists’. * An avatar banned elsewhere will never find themselves banned here simply because they were ‘on a list’. We may, however, take reasonable precaution to protect ourselves should we hear reports of individual griefers of great harm and high notoriety. VII) Freedom of Association. * The State of Caledon will not act against groups categorically due to the actions of a minority of its members, unless the group’s stated raison d’etre is to cause harm. VI) Freedom from Asset Seizure by Offshore Groups or Individuals. * Neither land, nor property, nor business of an avatar will be subject to seizure based upon charges brought before the State of Caledon by other parties. IX) Freedom from Unwarranted Search. * No property will be searched by agents of the State of Caledon without prior, reasonable cause to believe that something not allowed is present. Improper search would constitute methodic inspection of structures or areas for the purpose of discovering contraband. X) Rights of the Accused. * Regarding actions to be, or that have been taken against an avatar by the State of Caledon, the avatar has a right to know why within a reasonable period of time. No punishment will be cruel or unusual, such as: a lifetime ban for casual littering. If anyone wishes to dispute a ban or restriction, they may do so by contacting a State of Caledon representative. Please note that we are not constitutional rights experts, this may be an imperfect document, and we may not make perfect decisions every time. But we promise to try to do things right in good faith. Regarding land parcels a) Don't build right on the property line. It might be okay with your current neighbour, and such agreements/easements are fine. But if that person moves away, your structure right up against the other property usually devalues that property, and should be moved back. b) Don't have a home in construction for months. It is an eyesore. c) Don’t build over the public roads. Exception: if you control properties on both sides and want to do a tasteful bridge or suchlike, that's okay. Just don't block the right of way. d) Stick to the general foliage and vegetation trends. Don't leave land utterly bare, or smack a stand of palm trees in the middle of an old growth temperate forest. e) Build normally. No floating houses without say, some kind of magical or steampunk technology keeping it aloft. No upside down trees or random prim weirdness, &c. f) Terraform if you like, but don't cut out an 'island' for yourself or make some weird 100m tall death-spire &c. Caledon is not a waffle-grid of tiny islands, because of this rule. I’ve left full terraform control available, entrusting that it will not be abused. g) Don’t block original waterways. I wasn’t very clear on this in earlier versions of the covenant, but let me be clear now: 4m of waterway and 4m of depth is a reasonable minimum. In a natural way - canals that are 4.0m wide everywere... ick, don’t do that. I’m still a bit easygoing on this rule – if you are on a 1024m lot sandwiched against a waterway, take this rule as a suggestion not an absolute. h) Don’t ruin Caledon’s landform by flattening terrain smack out to the sim edge on a coast. i) Above 512m altitude, the 19th century theme is relaxed. Just keep the skies below 512 meters altitude clear or in-theme. You could have a 19th century steampunk airship at 100m altitude for instance. j) No ban lines. Singular exception: You may ban individuals from your land on a name by name basis. No active ‘security orbs’ or whatnot below 512m altitude (above is ok). Systematic abuse of bans (for instance: banning all members of a group one-by-one indiscriminately) violates the spirit of this rule. k) No Subleasing to other avatars unless you have a licence granted by the Guvnah Desmond Shang, which will then be placed by him at the parcel you occupy. Presently, over 16,384m of Caledon land must be held and other restrictions apply, to prevent Caledon from being swamped with tenants and thus lagged horribly. This sublease requirement may likely ease (or be suspended) in the future, depending upon the overall quality and stability of Caledon. My guess is that the land requirement may ease to 8192m land held + restrictions, or less land, if things go well. Note that you *can* share a home with a spouse, friends, or even sponsor a civic location for a well-established, known group (library, church, news organization &c) without any licence. You may sublease shop space to other avatars’ goods for sale also without a licence, within reason. At some point it effectively becomes subletting the parcel to another avatar or avatars. l) Please use common sense. If we end up having to rely on the text here word by word, there are probably ten loopholes big enough to bankrupt all the regions on ‘technicalities.’ If I forgot to write something down like "don't leave junk all over someone's land" – use common sense anyway. Just because something icky isn't spelled out doesn't make it ok. Regarding land in general "Buying" or "renting"? *The term 'buy' is misleading simply because all estate owners have a 'reclaim parcel' ability. But I do try to make the Caledon experience as close to ownership as I possibly can. So far, for nearly three years, hundreds of tenants and across roughly three million square meters of land, I have yet to reclaim any parcel from anyone, save for nonpayment. *There is a one-time fee up front, often associated with the 'buy land' feature. *"Buying" the property is not enough, you have to 'pay tier' to a parcel meter using $L. *The 'address prim' with the lot number in Caledon lamp posts is the parcel meter in most cases. Please contact me (Desmond Shang) so the parcel meter may be unlocked and the parcel deeded to a group of yours. You may keep it in your name if you like. Failing to notify me promptly will result in losing the property without refund. A Word on Market Speculation *Don't use the State of Caledon for land speculation. I have a long track record of keeping parcel prices ridiculously low to foster an accessible community. Not to pass out free money. I'll definitely notice if anyone starts to take advantage. Please don't, so I won't have to remedy the situation. For decent, honest folk simply trying to move around or leave, I am happy to help connect them with interested parties waiting to get Caledon land. That's a 'win-win' for everyone. Regarding Region Transfers/Dissolution *As mentioned above, the State of Caledon does not offer refunds of any kind. While you may transfer land rights for $L to other people, and I am willing to assist in said transfers, I make no guarantee that anyone (including myself!) will be able to recover value from land in the State of Caledon. Should entire regions ever have to go, I'll do my best to relocate remaining residents to existing regions with comparable properties. The bottom line is that if Caledon fails I won't be able to refund anything anyway. Even ten regions at a mere $L 4 per meter adds up to about ten thousand dollars of land, and Caledon is well past ten regions. If anyone ever says they will back up land value in a disaster, do the math, and then determine if they really would (or could) when there is insufficient income to maintain monthly, multi-thousand dollar tier charges. I limit the parcel meters to a 12 week horizon, and normally maintain 12 week's worth of tier payments at zero % occupancy in advance, to ensure that I limit everyone's liability and we all have time to react to adverse market conditions. It's the best I can do, in this brave new world where online worlds come and go for reasons I'll never be privy to. Honesty and honour dictates that I do not make financial promises that I may not be able to keep. Land fees Land 'up front' fees: These vary, but generally can be anywhere from $L 4 to $L 8 per square meter; a one time charge varying based on supply and demand. Double prim land is more expensive (double) in proportion – essentially the same price per prim. Land 'tier' fees: These are fees paid over time to maintain the land. No premium membership or land tier is required for property in Caledon. There are different fee structures in Caledon: most notably for regions purchased before 15 Nov 2006 and those purchased after. This reflects the changes in monthly rates per region by our service provider, and was not the desired choice of anyone in Caledon. Also, some minor rate differences with regard to "hubbed" vs "direct teleport" regions. As of January 2009 there is an addendum to this – rates for openspace (homestead) regions were increased by our service provider, and will increase again in the summer. Prior to the 5 January 2009 covenant I had a much longer explanation, but with over 40 regions I think a tabular format makes a lot more sense now. a) Note that all payments are payable in $L to the parcel meter. NO grace period - if you need grace period, add another week of time to the meter. An expired meter equals forfeiture of the land. I repeat, NO grace period. I may choose to give people a break on a case by case basis, I'm not generally evil or unreasonable. Caledon is at 106,620 USD in annual tier as of 5 Jan 09, and comfortably in black ink, but even so I have zero choice except to make sure the tier is paid, for the sake of everyone's land. It's not personal if I have to reclaim a parcel, it's purely meeting the financial reality of paying tier responsibly. If by chance there is a technical problem, contact me (Desmond Shang) immediately via in-world notecard, or email: desmondshang@gmail.com. Always use the parcel meters to pay – unless you contact me directly I won't notice you paid land fees via my profile and you'll lose your payment unless you make SURE to contact me along with it via notecard at least. Instant messages are not sufficient; my IM's "cap" and the overflow is eaten by the system before I ever see them. b) Note that rates are in $L, at approximately 260 $L / 1 USD conversion rate. If the conversion rate changes significantly, so will the $L rates as needed. c) Note that Standard regions have 15,000 prims and Homesteads have 3750 and less performance. Caledon Note: Teslace the demesne of Archduke Karsten Rutledge in perpetuity via specific land agreement. Crown Colony of Magellan Crown Colony of Mondserrat Some caveats # Note that for Homestead regions that are part of Caledon the rate is $L 6500/week as of 5 Jan 09. Rate likely to go to $L 8300/wk when the service provider raises rates 125 USD/mo in summer 09. # Off-Caledon Homestead regions (in the Crown Colonies) $L 500/wk more than Caledon ones. # In summer 09, rates for parceled Homesteads Caledon Windemere and Caledon Dundee will have to increase by about 15% or so to compensate for the 125 USD/mo rate from our service provider. # Four longtime existing residents were allowed to maintain their pre-Nov 06 old tier rate until they leave the parcel, or until service provider rates increase. The old tier rate for these four was preserved by swapping the former openspace region discount onto one of Caledon's standard regions. # Should you discover a Duchy parcel meter unpaid, or a Duchy's rental rights are sold, its rate will be brought up to the Covenant standard rate above immediately upon transfer. Repeat: the rate will not remain at lower rates that you may discover listed on some Duchy parcel meters. Expect $L 6500/wk or more. Specific sim theme details Duchys: Leave enough prims free to allow a vehicle through the region, don't building too near resident-occupied coastlines and so forth. Don't ban anyone from the entire Duchy; water passage and sky passage not right around your home or shop is considered free passage to all. Please come to the Guvnah's Mansion in Caledon Victoria City (southeast corner) to find a notecard containing specifics, if you might be pushing the limits. Note that the following older regions went hubless, by agreement of the residents by the former hubs there: Caledon Regency, Caledon On Sea, Caledon Highlands, Caledon Steam SkyCity, Caledon Moors, Caledon Wellsian. Tier rates in those regions didn't go up due to this. If people around the hub are okay with the region going hubless, I'll submit the ticket to our service provider to change the region's estate and make the change – which takes about 10 days as regions are in 'hubbed' or 'direct teleport' sub-estates on a management level. Caledon (historic sim) *none. Caledon II *none. Caledon Highlands *This area is hubless. *Supposed to be generally wilder and pretty. *On lots bigger than 2048m, structure footprints to be less than 25% of the land area. Port Caledon *1024m lots are for shops or homes. Not parks or other stuff; it’s a town. *1024m lots along the waterfront may be boat slips too, though. *Not any one person will own more than a few town lots at once. Caledon Tamrannoch *1024m lots in town are for shops or homes. *Not any one person should own more than a few town lots at once. Caledon On Sea *This area is hubless. *1024m lots around the town center are for shops or homes. *Not any one person should own more than a few town lots at once. Caledon Moors *This area is hubless. *Generally this area is for darker, more spooky, gothic builds. Caledon Cay *Generally, this area has a 19th c. New Orleans influence. *1024m lots around the town center are for shops or homes. *Not any one person should own more than a few town lots at once. Caledon Victoria City *This is a PG sim. *Multistory urban buildings only within the outer ‘ring’ road. *No ‘empty’ lots within the outer ‘ring’ road – there has to be buildings there. Caledon Mayfair *Generally, this is a posh, lovely residential area with homes and shops. *1024m lots are for shops and homes. *This is a nonindustrial sim: No factories. Inventor’s laboratories okay but not bigger. Caledon Lionsgate *This is the Duchy of Lionsgate, an openspace region. *It must remain maritime, largely navigable from north, south, east & west by water. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. Caledon Rothesay *This area is hubless. *Mostly comprised of former Duchys that got together and 'consolidated' to a high density region. *Large areas with very posh estates found here. Caledon Primverness *This is the Duchy of Primverness, an openspace region. *Please maintain appropriate geography and allow the rail line to go through. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. Caledon Loch Avie *This is the Duchy of Loch Avie, an openspace region. *Please maintain appropriate geography and allow the rail line to go through. *Please always have a ‘loch’ appropriate to the sim’s name. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. Caledon Tanglewood *This is a 19th century forest sim and builds should be loosely in the theme of such an area. *Caledon National Rail may go through this sim someday. it now does Caledon Steam SkyCity *This area is hubless. *If you are on the skycity, please, no carving small private islands for yourself on the sea below. *Do contribute to the skycity structure in some nontrivial manner, although use of the sky above and seas below is fine. Cdn Kittiwickshire *In Kittiwick town, please have structures (residences, shops), not 'parks' in town (especially just to support a skybox). *In the foresty area, keep builds loosely in theme of the forest. Caledon Eyre *This area is intended to be an extension of Tanglewood forest blending into posh countryside and manoral estates. Caledon Regency *This area is hubless. *This area is intended to be one of the more posh areas in all of Caledon. *A country or manor home, and pastures and stables should be de rigueur here. *Think: Jane Austen country, just a few decades later. Caledon Stormhold *Towering Mountains over forest... magic and mystery is in the air, and not all is as it seems. *In the foresty area, keep builds loosely in theme of the forest. Caledon Wellsian *This area is hubless. *Towering Mountains with mines, railroad and lightning collection in the high peaks. Caledon Sound *This is the Duchy of Caledon Sound, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Maritime rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Speirling *These are the Duchys of the East and West Speirling Isles, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Maritime rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Middlesea *This is the Duchy of Middlesea, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Maritime rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Cymru *This is the Duchy of Cymru, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Greystoke *This is the Duchy of Greystoke, an openspace sim. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Oxbridge *This is a PG region *This area is hubless. *Our Community Gateway. New residents entering our world learn and study here. Caledon Oxbridge Village *This is a PG region. *This area is hubless. *A village near the gateway, and home of NCI in Caledon. *A rather fun little university town, with lots of events. Caledon Kintyre *This is the Duchy of Kintyre, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other regions, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Penzance *This area is hubless. *This area is intended to be a cultural center of Caledon. *‘Town’ parcels are to have structures (shops or residences) on them, or use the downtown permanent structures if present (those anchored to Commonwealth of Caledon land). No ‘parks’ in town. *No one person should ‘own’ the town – a shop or two is fine, ‘extra prim land’ should be drawn from surrounding countryside if available. *Shops left largely empty or unused for months may be subject to eviction without refund. IM’s and notecards will be sent before this occurs, and it’s only for egregious cases where a town parcel is obviously horrifically neglected. *High lag activities or even access may be somewhat limited for a few hours maximum a week due to inworld cultural performances (theatre, machanima, &c). Caledon Morgaine *This area is hubless. *This area is meant to be somewhat wild, including the Sky Mountain and its fragments. Caledon Brigadoon *This area is hubless. *Unused prims may be ‘borrowed’ for a few hours a month, for a special feature of this region in an otherwise wild area. Caledon Glengarry *This area is hubless. *This area is meant to be somewhat wild. Caledon Cape Wrath *This area is hubless. *This area is intended to be a small seaside village. *‘Town’ parcels are to have structures (shops or residences) on them, or use the downtown permanent structures if present (those anchored to Commonwealth of Caledon land). No ‘parks’ in town. *No one person should ‘own’ the town – a shop or two is fine, ‘extra prim land’ should be drawn from surrounding countryside if available. *Shops left largely empty or unused for months may be subject to eviction without refund. IM’s and notecards will be sent before this occurs, and it’s only for egregious cases where a town parcel is obviously horrifically neglected. *International borders to be respected. Caledon maritime authority ends at the border. Caledon Downs *This area is hubless. *This area is meant to be somewhat wild. Caledon Windemere *This is an openspace region, with 25% of the resources of a standard region. *This area is hubless. *This area is meant to be quite wild, with just a few parcels for residents. Caledon SouthEnd *This area is hubless. *This area is intended to be a small seaside village. *‘Town’ parcels are to have structures (shops or residences) on them, or use the downtown permanent structures if present (those anchored to Commonwealth of Caledon land). No ‘parks’ in town. *No one person should ‘own’ the town – a shop or two is fine, ‘extra prim land’ should be drawn from surrounding countryside if available. *Shops left largely empty or unused for months may be subject to eviction without refund. IM’s and notecards will be sent before this occurs, and it’s only for egregious cases where a town parcel is obviously horrifically neglected. Caledon Dundee *This is an openspace region, with 25% of the resources of a standard region. *This area is hubless. *This area is meant to be quite wild, with just a few parcels for residents. Caledon Westmoreland *This is the Duchy of Westmoreland, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other regions, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Strathspey *This is the Duchy of Strathspey, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other regions, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Caer Firnas *This is the Duchy of Caer Firnas, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other regions, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Cavendish *This is the Duchys of East and West Cavendish, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other regions, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Caledon Inish *This is the Duchy of Inish, an openspace region. *It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires. *The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location. *Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other regions, and allowing craft to use the sea apply. *See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details. Philosophy Rather than make a bunch of "democratic" rules that will break down at the first difference of opinion, I think honesty serves best. I own the regions, but over the long haul the landholders allow me to keep it. It's important to me both personally and financially that people are happy. So if a majority of landholders generally want something, I'll do whatever I can unless there is some dire reason not to. Such as free land for everyone – obvious dire consequences! On the other hand, I am a man of principle. If I see any majority group acting overtly mean to one or two others, sooner or later I'll step in. No "Lord of the Flies" scenario will happen here. Any 'loophole' in the rules that might be perceived to allow cruelty or harassment will be slammed shut. I used to have a statement saying 'no favouritism' – but over the course of a year, I found some interesting situations. As you may know, if someone doesn't pay their parcel meter someone else can come by and 'take over' the lot. Most of the time, if this happens I let the new person take over – nonpayment is serious, and without consequences you can imagine if/when anyone would get around to paying. However, if I know that someone hasn't been able to buy $L for the past 3 times they have logged in due to asset server problems, have been a perfect tenant and very decent, I may stop their lot from being taken over. Don't count on this. But it will remain my decision. "Swooping" someone's lot doesn't automatically make you the new tenant, though there's a very good chance it could. Remember, I am no Solomon. I promise a good faith effort to be fair, but I am human and have my own values, which may be as noble or as flawed as your own. I am no counselor and have no special insights. I try to see the positive – if someone is breaking a rule for a day or two, cut them some slack. Most things go away anyway, due to the constantly changing nature of the grid. The light of a new day will often put things in perspective too. A few things will spread like wildfire so I do respond right away at the least sign of it – scamming, or say, extreme terraforming. We are here for fun; sometimes an object isn't quite in theme but is humourous or whimsical, and I firmly believe we all need a little more whimsy in our lives. Caledon is already an historic super-premium location on the grid, with astonishingly good press – no one can shatter the shared dream with a fountain or a rubber duckie. Laugh along and enjoy the positive. Feel free to contact me (Desmond Shang) at any time about anything. I get really busy but I'll answer everything I see eventually. I never hide my online status in search. If your IM went unanswered it is probably because my offline IM messages 'capped' again as usual and I never saw it. Drop me a notecard instead if I'm not online; it's the most reliable way to contact me. Warm Regards, - Desmond Shang Category:CaledonCategory:Culture